The Wordpile

This page contains general resources and resources directly related to computers. I’ve chosen to interpret both categories fairly broadly, and repeat whichever entries seem appropriate in the other sections. All paid for items generate funds to support the site, so if you should decide to purchase them later, please take the extra few seconds to access the item from here.

Note: It is impossible for me to personally test all or even most of these products. I have evaluated them as best I can from the sales page. If any of you have or gain what you feel to be important input on any of them, please be sure to tell me via the comments option, which I have made open to all. Be sure to specify the product in question clearly.

Software

The Membership Plug-in:
One of the most powerful, complete WordPress plug-in’s out there, this one actually commands a price, perhaps even a high one…but if I had the financial wherewithal, I’d be eying it anyway. Or it wouldn’t be here.

PDF Creator:
A quality, professional PDF making software that is much cheaper than Adobe. Probably not actually equivalent to Adobe, but for those who want to be able to originate PDF’s but don’t need Adobe level performance, this should be an excellent find.

StyleEase:
A useful piece of writing software that can automate any number of academic styles. Good for students, professors looking to save time, etc.

Flash Audio Wizard:
Tool for adding sound to websites.

Rocket Spanish, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Sign Language:
Rosetta Stone is prohibitively expensive. The Rocket series of language programs are respectable, work, and cost a lot less. This is a relative term of course – the price tag isn’t precisely negligible, just much more manageable.

Zygor’s In-Game Leveling Guide:
Widely acknowledged as the best WoW guide money can buy. It’s a program, not a PDF booklet, and integrates into your playing screen. It also shows all the information you need right there, as well as directions, so no need to spend time checking up on stuff. If I ever do play WoW (one of my constant temptations in life), buying this will be my first step after signing up. Buying the PDF gold guide I also list here will be my second.

CCleaner:
A free cleaner of Windows PCs. This legally free app will clean out all the bits of useless data that accumulate on your computer, greatly facilitating performance, and will also work on your registry, though perhaps not as well as the more specialized, equally free registry cleaner listed below. This app is acknowledged to perform on equal levels with paid programs, and is rated four out of five stars at Cnet.

Little Registry Cleaner:
Competent, simple registry cleaner, with all the expected features, such as the ability to back up the present registry state. Works very well, or at least it always has for me. Is well regarded at Cnet.

Reimage Ultimate Compute Fix:
For when simple registry cleaners and trash detectors like CCleaner and Little Registry aren’t enough. If the above two have failed to eliminate reasonably distinct function issues (that you are sure aren’t hardware related), then this would be a worthwhile investment. It comes with a price tag though, so be sure to try the others: I’m of the personal opinion that you should rarely need this.

Malwarebyte:
The best free anti-virus software out there, and absolutely effective. I’d used Clamwin, another free anti-virus program, for some time, and been quite happy. Then came Spyware Guard 2008, which stumped me and plagued my computer until – you guessed it – I tried this one. Killed it on the first try, and never failed since. A Cnet editor’s choice for 2009.

Sites and Services

Instant Sound FX:
Sound effects resource, highly regarded.

Government Auctions:
You may have heard about the auctioning of confiscated/foreclosed items by the government and police by now. If you haven’t, you should listen, because it is an excellent way to get high quality stuff for very cheap. Of course, as in all things, first you need a reputable outlet. This is the best of the paid membership options. If you don’t want to pay (the free sites selection is inferior to this one, I warn you), see the entry immediately below, which is still well worth using.

Property Room:
Propertyroom.com is a free police auction site. Other people may auction here too, but a simple checkbox next to the search bar will exclude everything else. It’s a grab bag kind of environment, similar to a half price bookstore or Goodwills in that you can dependably find low end items but can find very good deals if you keep an eye on it. I have ordered items from it and found service satisfactory, and can affirm it is on the level (one item I received still had a form sticker filled out by whichever police officer had confiscated it). They also run a service called Steal-it-back, also free, accessible though a link at the bottom of the page. When you register the serial number of your stolen items with them, they will check it against every new item they receive (remember that the vast majority of their items are confiscated from criminals). If it matches, you get it back. Even if you choose to bid at the paid membership site, this additional service is well worth noting, as they claim it to be the only nationwide such service available to the public.

My Data Team:
Tutorials for all constant web based money making means. Affiliate marketing, article writing, blog making (helped me!), classic data entry, etc. I am a member and can attest to the value of the site’s resources. Fee: fifty dollars. One time payment.

Learn How to Blog on WordPress:
A set of video tutorials. They’re free, but I found it on clickbank so a sale is definitely hidden somewhere on the page. Let me know when and where you find it, and I’ll update the description accordingly. It’s here for the usefulness of the free part.

SaleHoo Wholesale Suppliers:
An online compendium of verified, genuine wholesale suppliers. Use it to get stuff cheap, either for yourself or for selling (site also offers free training on how to use its offered resources for business, plus you can ask advice of other members). This is another one I wouldn’t mind getting into myself one day. Note: If you intend to sell online, be aware that Ebay is no longer advisable. It has changed greatly and is now very unfriendly to small or starting sellers. You are strongly advised to use Amazon instead.

Sourceforge:
The ultimate source of sourceware. Meaning, legally free software. Quality ranges, of course, but  a significant number are very good indeed, often successfully replacing their paid for counterparts. This site has grown in leaps and bounds over the last year or so, and is now much, much more user friendly, making its vast range of free products even more accessible. However, there are still a few things you need to know to look for when browsing.

One: Your OS. Obviously, programs for all systems are developed and posted here. It used to be far more haphazard, but you can now ensure yourself on this score via the option directly under the search bar. If your system is not Windows, click change to make sure you are getting software equipped for your system.

Two: Details/Development status. This important detail has also advanced tremendously. What you need from this is as follows: the exact versions of your OS supported, and the development status. Many projects here are still in progress, listed for monitoring and to attract the attention of similarly inclined programmers. If a program is any less advanced than 4-beta than it is not ready for you. You can now enable all of these details to be shown in the search results, allowing you to rule things out without actually viewing that software’s page. This is what I recommend, but if you don’t, then after you click the link, check next to the program title. If there is a green bubble saying ‘beta’, or nothing at all, it’s clear. If there is a blue ‘alpha’ bubble, or a light green ‘pre-alpha’ or ‘planning’ bubble, it’s still in production, to be used only by programmers.
This is an excellent resource, possibly the best you’ll find here, and you just might be surprised by how many of the things you used to pay for you can get here, in equally high quality, for free, from anti-virus software (you’ve already seen some examples in this list) to gaming.

E-books

Bonsai Trees:
How to for Bonsai Trees.

Building a Koi Pond:
There are quite a few of these floating around: this is my present pick. Please be sure to share any useful input you might have on this.

Parrot Care:
Parrots are notoriously difficult pets, and yet many people would like to keep one. So I have made an effort to have an e-book on the subject, but the fact is I have my doubts about it too. It’s the best I can find at the moment, so here it stays, but feedback would be deeply appreciated, and this entry is subject to change at any time.

Learn That Language:
Definitely one of my favorite offerings here. Instead of being a guide to a language, which is the norm – and why not, when it means you can repackage the same thing over and over again? – this is a guide to the art of effective, relatively painless language learning – any language. If you are someone with an interest in learning languages, you want this. I certainly do. Rates high on my list of pitch pages that strike me as genuine. I will update this entry when I have bought and tried it, and I plan to, believe me.

Make a backyard waterfall:
Too good to miss, no? But as always let me know if it’s, you know, smelly.

World of Warcraft Gold Guide:
Slogging for gold is easily the most tedious part of any RPG. WoW is so big you can buy gold for US dollars, but that is a) expensive and a never ending cycle b) illegal, you could get banned for that, and c) just plain lame. That’s not playing. This guide is written by one of the games oldest players, and the first ever to own an epic mount. Put that together with the fact that he still plays, and you have a reassuring amount of authority behind this. Kept up to date (updates are free with purchase).

Energy2Green:
The most reliable guide to homemade windmills and solar panels. There are quite a few others, but this one stands out as the most credible, easily.

The Thriving Artist:
How to make your art a sustainable, bread winning enterprise. This item beat its competitors for credibility largely because you are allowed to view the table of contents, so that you can see just what he is going to teach you to accomplish this. Very few sites give you this much info. And the subject is certainly a good one.